NFL coach Paul Bryant first said this in 1982 but it's an expression that rings true in all levels of sport all over the world.

In the case of Barnstoneworth United, defence will be its primary focus in the upcoming Western Premier League campaign as centre back and skipper Josh Summerson says the side will base its play largely off what it does without the football.

"If we can defend strong throughout the season we can build off that," Summerson said.

"We've got blokes who can score goals when the opportunities present themselves but our focus is defence."

Barnies' first clash will come on Saturday when they take on Macquarie, a side that Summerson's touting as one of the teams to beat.

"They're probably the benchmark," he said.

"They have some bloody good players who have been doing it a long time."

While he's dubbed Macquarie as a side to look out for, teams aren't the league have pointed fingers at Summerson's side as being one of the top squads and the skipper's confident that he's got a winning roster around him.

"We've got the right people and we've built a fair bit from last year," he said.

"We brought in a couple of Mariners boys who didn't want to travel anymore... now it's just a matter of getting the combinations to work. "We've got a lot of players who play the same way so that should help."

That same 'way' is with a defence-first mentality and Summerson's men will put that style to the test at 3.15pm at Jack Brabham on Sunday.